Digital Square Open Proposal Process and Platform (OPP&P)

Promoting the collaborative development of proposals for investments in digital health global goods

Digital Square supports investments in digital health global goods, which are tools that are adaptable to different countries and contexts. Mature digital health global good software is software that is (usually) Free and Open Source (FOSS), is supported by a strong community, has a clear governance structure, is funded by multiple sources, has been deployed at significant scale, is used across multiple countries, has demonstrated effectiveness, is designed to be interoperable, and is an emergent standard application.

We are using an open proposal process. Your concept notes and proposals will be publicly posted, giving you and other submitters the opportunity to find collaborators and provide and receive feedback from your peers.

Latest Announcement

Thank you for your participation in the Digital Square Notice C Process. A total of 30 proposals are advancing to the Peer Review Committee for review. Those proposals advancing have been marked as “In Review” on the Open Proposal Site. The PRC Review phase runs through October 10, after which time, Digital Square will compile their feedback to be shared at the next Governing Board meeting in November 2018. We anticipate sharing the funding decisions determined by the Governing Board in December 2018.

We want to update you that we have decided to make the budget narrative documents private. Based on some feedback from Notice C participants as the proposals were due, we see how some of the information you provided in the budget narrative can be interpreted as confidential, thus, the budget narrative and budget uploads are all confidential. We will share high level budget numbers of funding requested for each proposal with the PRC as well as any delineation of budget aligned with milestone activities or work packages, if you submitted information in this form.

We continue to iterate this process and would appreciate your feedback. Please complete this short survey to share with your Digital Square your reflections of the Notice C Cycle and Open Proposal Platform. Your feedback is extremely helpful in assisting us to improve on future Notice cycles. Please complete this survey by Wednesday, October 3. In addition to the survey, you are always welcome to provide us feedback via email, slack or a phone call.

Thank you again for your support to Digital Square and the evolving ecosystem of global goods.

Timeline

Concept Note Phase: June 19–July 30 (by 11:59pm PT)

Digital Square issues a call for proposals, and submitters upload concept notes to the Digital Square OPP&P. The Peer Review Committee and other submitters can provide feedback, comments and suggestions and identify potential areas for collaboration.

Concept Note Review Phase: July 31 (by 11:59pm PT)

Concept notes are reviewed and categorized as “in scope” or “out of scope” for Notice C by Digital Square by July 31.

Proposal Co-Creation Phase: August 1–September 3 (by 11:59pm PT)

In-scope submitters then begin developing full proposals, incorporating community feedback, and establishing collaborative partnerships. It is encouraged that proposal submitters post drafts of the proposals for additional community feedback from the Peer Review Committee and other submitters well before the September 3rd deadline.

Proposal Finalization Phase: September 4–September 18 (by 11:59pm PT)

Proposal submitters finalize the proposal and budget, incorporating feedback received during the previous steps. In addition, proposal submitters complete a self-assessment of their global good using the Global Good Maturity Model and register the global good with the Digital Health Atlas.

**Please note the budget is not shared publicly on the platform, and the Peer Review Committee sees only the high-level budget and Level of Effort (LOE) percentages.

The Peer Review Committee reviews proposals according to Prioritization Framework criteria and votes on green-, amber-, or red-lit status . The vote is shared only with the Digital Square team, who then prepares the proposals with the color status for the Governing Board to review.

**Please note submitters will not be made aware of their color status at this time.

Board Review: Mid-to-Late November

The proposals, budget, and Peer Review Committee votes are presented to the Governing Board to vote for investment.

Awards Announced: Late November to Early December

The result of the Governing Board vote is communicated to the submitters.